Energy absorbing straps have been used as a means of absorbing energy during the collapse of a steering column. Some such straps are configured to roll along their length to absorb energy, and are often referred to as roll straps. Typically, roll straps absorb energy during the deformation of the strap in crash event. For example, a vehicle operator may contact the steering column assembly, whereby kinetic energy of the occupants may be dissipated through compression of the steering column assembly.
When designing an E/A roll strap, the considerations include: cost, load requirements, tuneability, and packaging. Performance of the roll strap in a collapse event is influenced by many factors, including material thickness/width, material properties, and or shapes or features of the strap, such as darts, flanges, gussets, and/or curvature of the strap. As such, performance of the strap can be changed by modifying these characteristics, but often packaging requirements limit the changes that can be made. In such instances, gussets are often employed, but selected gussets shapes become quite complex to fulfill specific requirements during specific stages of the collapse cycle. The complexity greatly affects manufacturing cost of the roll strap and is thus an undesired solution.